Hometown Hero

My apologies that both my blogging and bloghopping had been quite erratic these past few days due to a rather busy work schedule. I had just completed a one-week assignment in Greenville, Texas and I'm scheduled to fly home first thing Friday morning.

Greenville, Texas is a rather sleepy rural town about 50 miles east of Dallas. Except for a few businesses, the town is made up mostly of homes that sit on huge tracts of land and numerous cow farms. The town has a small airfield, Majors Field, that is owned and run by one of the companies operating in the area.

Aside from being in a major cotton producing area in the United States, Greenville's other claim to fame would be the fact that it was in this town where Audie Murphy (1924-1971) signed up to join the US Army in 1942. To those who are into military history, Audie Murphy is known as America's most decorated soldier in World War II. He was born near Greenville but his actual birthplace is in dispute. Some historians say that he was born in the town of Celeste but a couple of people at the office I visited, both long-time residents of the area, said that he was actually born in the neighboring town of Kingston.

The son of poor sharecroppers, Audie had a very rough childhood. He was the sixth of 12 children. His father abandoned their family when he was 12 while his mother died when he was about 16 years old. Prior to signing up for the Army, he had to send some younger siblings to foster homes to ensure their proper care and survival.

Contrary to some biographical acocunts, he never really lied about his age when he signed up for the Army at 18 in 1942. In the battlefield, he showed exemplary courage in his three years of active service and as a result, ended up garnering 33 awards and decorations, among them the Medal of Honor. He joined the army in 1942 as a private and ended his military career in 1945 as a second lieutenant.

To Filipinos, he became known and popular when he starred in his autobiographical film To Hell and Back which was released in 1955. The movie was based on the book of the same title and my father, like many teenage boys of his generation, saw the movie when it came out in Manila. In fact, I learned of Audie Murphy through my father when as a kid, I had entertained thoughts and ambitions of joining the Philippine Military Academy after high school.

Although he eventually became a Hollywood star and had quite a number of War and Western movies to his credit, Audie Murphy's story was not all bright and happy. Like a lot of young men who got exposed to violent and brutal combat situations then and since, he had also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental problem that was also known at the time as "battle fatigue". For the rest of his life, he suffered from recurring nightmares, insomnia and depression. He even reportedly kept a gun under his pillow to possibly ward off enemies that came to him in his dreams.

His life came to an abrupt and sad end in 1971 when he died in a plane crash in Virginia while on a business trip. Although Hollywood glorified his exploits as a war hero, his lifelong mental problems also showed that he also counted as one of war's many victims.

As for yours truly, although my dream of becoming a soldier faded long before I entered college, my interest in military history and in its related areas remain. I have always maintained the highest respect for the common soldier for his/her willingness to put his/her life on the line to defend our way of life. It needs to be said that a lot of these people often come from poor families. It's quite ironic then that the people who have been willing to pay the highest price to defend our freedoms and democratic ideals come from families who hardly benefit from those materially.

Thus, in spite of the scandals we often hear about in the upper echelons of the Philippine military establishment, let us set aside our cynicism for a while and pay homage to the lowly enlisted man who continues to serve and be loyal to his country in spite of all its problems, broken promises and imperfections.

Not in Love

Talk about a love song with unconventional lyrics. The song's words talk about a man who denies having strong feelings of love for his special someone.

The song's called "I'm Not in Love" performed by the British band 10CC. The song, written by band members Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart, was released in May 1975 and quickly became a worldwide hit for the group.

I was still a kid at the time this song became popular. I immediately fell for it mainly due to the beauty of its music and because of the way the group performed it. I loved the way the lead and backup vocals blended. But although I quickly learned its words, I never gave much thought to what they truly meant. All I knew was that the song was about love or maybe, the absence of it. In short, I liked and sang the song without understanding it.

I was already in my early college years and after experiencing my first romances when upon hearing the song played on DWRK 96.3 one weekday afternoon that I suddenly realized what its words meant. That was when I really listened to the lyrics and internalized them. I saw the song in a different light after that.

Let me then share with you its lyrics.

I'm not in love
So don't forget it.
It's just a silly phase i'm going through.
And just because
I call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made.
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..

I like to see you.
But then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me.
So if i call you
Don't make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about the two of us.
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..

I keep your picture
Upon the wall.
It hides a nasty stain that's lying there.
So don't you ask me
To give it back.
I know you know it doesn't mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no no, it's because..

Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time
Ooh you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh you'll wait a long time

I'm not in love
So don't forget it.
It's just a silly phase i'm going through.
And just because i call you up
Don't get me wrong, don't think you've got it made.
I'm not in love
I'm not in love

In the Still of the Night

So before the light,
Hold me again
With all your might
In the still of the night.

In my drunken stupor, thoughts of you come to me. That's then when they find me at my loneliest, when they find me at my saddest.

Shorn of the control and discipline that sobriety uses to shield me, my tears and pain come and flow easily.

I guess I'll just have to close my eyes and let alcohol's power lull me to a deep sleep. At least when the morning comes, she'll find sobriety back fully recovered and me smiling at the world again, even for just a while.

Photo Hunt: Share ANY Photo

This week's Photo Hunt theme is Share ANY Photo.


My contribution to this week's theme is a picture I took when I was out in Carlsbad, California a few years ago.

The picture above is a depiction of a San Francisco city scene, probably the city's famed Marina area, at Legoland's theme park. All structures you see (including the roads) were built out of Lego bricks. The park's truly worth a visit for aside from San Francisco, this park also showcased replicas of other cities around the United States such as Washington D.C., New Orleans, and New York City.

Who Am I?

I was tagged by Mec for this meme that I found to be quite fun to do.

I AM.... a person who enjoys the simple pleasures of life. I tend to zero in on things that truly matter to me. I value substance over form. Although I also enjoy and avail of the material comforts in life, I do not consider myself as materialistic.

I WANT.... a Playstation 3 (Oops! I think I just made a liar out of myself based on the last sentence I wrote above. Hehe Well, anyway, for every rule there's an exception, ok?.)

I HAVE.... a very deep affection and a very soft spot for kids. I probably got this from my father who was, and still is, a favorite uncle to my cousins. To hear children laugh is, for me, one of those things that make life worth living.

I WISH.... I was devastatingly handsome. Naks! Hahaha Seriously, I wish I got to meet my grandparents and my father's siblings who were no longer around by the time I was born.

I HATE.... to see very good things and very good lives come to an end.

I FEAR.... the loss of a loved one and not necessarily just through death.

I SEARCH.... for meaning in any major activity I embark on in life.

I WONDER.... at times if I'm truly in the right religion given all the nasty things (conquests of foreign lands, the Crusades, the Holocaust, the Spanish Inquisition, etc.) that have been committed in its name for thousands of years.

I REGRET.... having to leave my country for a better life elsewhere.

I LOVE.... Loving and being loved.

I ALWAYS.... arrive for meetings, appointments and dates either on time or ahead of time. I absolutely hate being tardy. I would rather wait for the other person than have the person wait for me.

I AM NOT.... gay.

I DANCE.... to entertain kids and to make them laugh. Mimicking Stevie Wonder's moves never fails to elicit laughter even from kids who hardly know of him. (You guys ought to try it too some time. It works I tell you. Hehe) But the moment another adult walks into the room I promptly stop. :D

I SING.... in my head a lot of times and regardless of my mood.

I CRY.... whenever I hear of kids being physically or psychologically harmed, neglected or abused. They didn't ask to be brought into this world so why should they be made to suffer?

I WRITE.... because I can express what's in my heart and mind better through writing.

I WON.... several Math and Science contests for my class in 6th grade. It led the homeroom teacher of another class to complain as to why I was always competing and winning. Ha! Sore loser.

I AM CONFUSED.... as to why some people just go with the flow and not question things. For me, a mind is a terrible thing to waste and to simply go with the flow leads to inappropriate or incorrect decisions and wasted time and effort.

I NEED.... to know WHY I'm being asked to do or believe in certain things. I am a skeptic. I will steadfastly refuse to do or believe in anything until someone has convinced me of its logic.

I SHOULD.... take a bath more often! Hahaha Was just joking there, ok? Hehehe But seriously, I should exercise more to keep my weight down and cut down on drinks and food that contain a lot of sugar. This is due to the sad fact that complications from the big "D" have killed a number of members of the Panaderos clan.

THE LAST THOUGHT YOU GO TO SLEEP WITH IS.... the people I love.

Now I am tagging Dr_Clairebear, Liquid, and Mitsuru.